Drunk Driver’s Mother Snickers In Courtroom But It’s The Judge Who Gets The Last Laugh

Michigan Judge Qiana Lillard is making waves around the world due to her sharp reaction to snickering in her courtroom. Judge Lillard was in the middle of a case involving a drunk driver named Amanda Kosal, 25, who was charged with “operating under the influence causing death” when the chaos began.

Kosal was drunk and behind the wheel when she struck 31-year-old Jerome Zirker and his fiancée, 31-year-old Brittany Johnson. Jerome passed away from the accident and Brittany was left with severe injuries. The victims’ families were reading their heartbreaking impact statements to Kosal when laughter erupted from her family.

This was far from a laughing matter and Judge Lillard was going to teach them a lesson…

Judge Lillard stopped the courtroom proceedings in their tracks to reprimanded Kosal’s entire family for laughing during such a grave event. They weren’t expecting lengthy jail sentences for snickering – but it’s exactly what they got…

The furious judge lashed out at one of Kosal’s male family members (the one laughing the hardest), before turning her attention to Kosal’s giggling mother. She raged:

“Whoever can sit here at a tragic moment like this and laugh and smile when somebody has lost a family member… in the entire time that Mr. Zirker’s sister was speaking, that clown — and that’s what I am going to call him, a clown — was sitting there smiling and laughing.

And you [pointing to Kosal’s mother] can go, too. Because if you don’t know how to act, you can go to jail. So leave…”

“This is a court of law, and these are very serious matters. I understand you all are very upset because your loved one is going to prison — but guess what? She’s going to prison for the choices that she made. These people are here grieving, saddened because a senseless act took away their loved one, and you’re sitting here acting like it’s a joke?

Not in Courtroom 502. Not today and not any other day.

Your disruptive and disrespectful behavior disrupted today’s proceedings and you, ma’am, are going to the Wayne County Jail for 93 days.”

The bailiffs removed Kosal’s mother and took her directly to a county jail cell. Even though she only ended up serving one day out of the 93, we’re sure she’ll think twice before being so disrespectful in the future.

In the time since Judge Lillard’s response was posted, millions of people have tuned in to watch. She took to Facebook to thank everyone for their words of support and share her appreciation for the job. Judge Lillard takes her profession seriously, and she will not tolerate cruelty like the snickering heard in her courtroom that afternoon.

Judge Lillard wrote:

“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit this page to express your feelings. I am honored to have the privilege of serving the citizens of Wayne County.”

No one will laugh in her courtroom again – especially when it comes to such a serious matter!

Watch Judge Lillard order Kosal’s mother to jail for felony contempt in the video below.

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